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The dead end of chips: Manufacturing semiconductors consumes as much energy as entire countries
(english.elpais.com)
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2024
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Technology
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In contrast to stuff like AI training or crypto, chips at least fulfill an actually useful function, so I don't see the issue with their manufacturing consuming a lot of energy. Or should we compare the same for cars or medicine?
What exactly do you think these chips are used for?
Because it's often enough AI, crypto and bullshit IoT.
The vast, vast majority of chips produced are "old generation" chips used for relatively mundane purposes. The high-tech stuff you see in the news is a minority (though it's pricey enough that it doesn't look that way in company earnings reports).
Think power supplies, middle-of-the-road CPUs, ASICs for common I/O like USB and ethernet, timing devices, and wireless communication modules.
And that's mostly the "bullshit IoT" category. It's not like the demand for phones and laptops exploded in the last years, it's IoT, AI and other useless crap - regardless of the process node.
Even a non-IoT electronic device still runs on many different chips.
Exactly, such as:
Basically, if it does something useful, there's probably a ton of chips involved.